She's "a much better person than she is a tennis player". That was the touching tribute tennis coach Craig Tyzzer paid his star pupil Ashleigh Barty after her big win at the elite season-ending championships in China which came with a $6m winner's cheque. "A lot of people talk about her talent and her tennis but talent only gets you so far and it's really her character that has taken her to where she is right now," Tyzzer told AAP. "I'm lucky enough on a daily basis to see what sort of person she is. So, for me, that's been the key." The first Australian to win the WTA Finals since her idol Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1976, Barty is equally proud to be respected as one of the tour's most popular players. "That stems from my mum and dad, without a doubt," Barty said. "Mum and dad have taught me everything that I've learnt in life. They taught me the values to live by."